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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

According to a recent New York Times article: Despite the fact that there have been 2 million manufacturing employees laid off since 2007, manufacturers are still facing skilled worker shortages. According to the article, “Plenty of people are applying for jobs. The problem, the companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed.

Given the number of industrial wipes used every day by large and small industrial facilities alike, is it possible for a facility’s use of industrial wipers to be environmentally sustainable? The answer is “yes” if the facility considers the entire wiper product lifecycle in its purchasing policies for this ubiquitous tool.

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (AP) — Colin Kelly Sikkila has an idea he believes helps make vehicles more affordable for car buyers and more profitable for automakers.
A retired metal model maker at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren, Sikkila designed a model car that could be used as a blueprint for building a car with several identical parts on the front and back, such as the hood and trunk lids, doors, fenders and windows.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration declined to cite China for manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages against the United States.
The Treasury Department on Friday noted that China last June said it would begin allowing its currency to rise against the dollar. The agency said the pace of revaluation has been too slow since and more rapid appreciation is needed.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ford Motor Co. will increase factory production 13 percent in the first quarter because of higher demand for Ford and Lincoln brand cars and trucks, and further increases are likely through the year, company executives said Sunday.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said its sales to individual buyers rose 27 percent in January, a strong increase that shows demand for Ford products like the Explorer sport utility vehicle is on the rise.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chrysler's CEO apologized Saturday for the way he described the interest rates the U.S. and Canadian governments are charging on the bailouts his company received in 2008 and 2009.
Sergio Marchionne, speaking Friday during an automotive conference in San Francisco, called the interest rates a "thorn" in his side and said that refinancing the two loans would mean no longer having to explain the "shyster rates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. labor force has been split into two groups: the relieved and the desperate.
Those who have a job are less likely to lose it than at any point in at least 14 years.
Those who are unemployed are in trouble. Finding a job remains a struggle 20 months after the recession technically ended.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama named Gene Sperling as his chief economic adviser, two of Sperling's early calls went to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.
Known for his pugilistic style, Donohue wasted no time. Come on over, he said.

Tom Moran, COO and President of Midwest Plastic Fabricators, stands next to the "ferris wheel," one of many homemade technological innovations he has developed over his 30-year engineering career.
Tom Moran, COO of Ohio’s Midwest Plastic Fabricators (MPF), has a unique story to tell.

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Dallas at the request of Snap-On, the well-known manufacturer of all things tooling. At the event, they educated me and other members of the press on a tool crib that takes all of the hassle out of asset management. All tools removed from the crib are automatically detected by the system.

Melmor Associates Inc. (Niles, OH) has added a new label holder line and material handling identification line. The label holder is a placard label holder, which enables the user to repetitively label returnable containers, pallet racks, and flock racks, without the mess of label and adhesive build-up.

Eaton Corporation (Eden Prairie, MN) has developed a new line of steam hose that was engineered to provide maximum safety. The Steam Slayer hose combines a chlorobutyl tube with high-tensile steel wire reinforcement and an Ethylene Proylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) cover to produce a hose with a 10:1 burst safety factor.

Bollé (Overland Park, KS) has announced the launch of its Bollé Safety product line to the U.S. safety eyewear market. According to the company, the line is known for its performance, style, and comfort. To support the launch, Bollé has reached a distribution agreement with Protective Industrial Products, Inc.

The TC-1 tube and hose cutter — from Beswick (Greenland, NH) is a precision tool for making square cuts, and uses chrome-plated metal for strength. A plastic coating is then applied to the handles to improve the feel. According to the company, the V-shaped head ensures straight cuts and prevents jagged edges, which makes it easier to use than a utility knife or razor.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — President Barack Obama, turning briefly to his eclipsed domestic agenda Thursday, called on the nation's businesses to make fresh investments in clean energy technology that lay a foundation for long-term American prosperity.
He proposed a new tax credit and other measures to encourage businesses to retrofit their plants and reduce costs — steps that he said would save $40 billion a year in utility bills.

In this Jan. 26, 2011 photo, Terri Lewis installs a fan on a diesel engine on the Volvo truck assembly line at the Volvo plant in Dublin, Va. The work force was more efficient last year with productivity rising at the fastest pace in eight years while labor costs fell for a second straight year, something that hasn't happened in nearly five decades.

TOKYO (AP) — Honda's Fit subcompact overtook Toyota's Prius gasoline-electric hybrid as Japan's top-selling car in January, its first return to that spot in nearly two years.
The figures released Friday by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association show how the end of government subsidies for green cars have hurt sales of the Prius after holding the top spot in Japan for 20 straight months.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin meatpacking company has agreed to pay $1.65 million to settle a sex-discrimination lawsuit accusing it of rejecting 970 female applicants over a two-year period, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.
Green Bay Dressed Beef LLC will pay the money in the form of back pay, benefits and interest, Labor Department spokesman Scott Allen said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Car companies like General Motors and Nissan are slowly rolling out rechargeable electric cars. But that didn't stop thousands of U.S. taxpayers, including prisoners and some IRS employees, from incorrectly claiming lucrative tax credits for the electric vehicles last year.
A Treasury Department inspector general report says nearly 13,000 taxpayers erroneously claimed about $33 million in credits for plug-in electric and alternative vehicles during the first six months of 2010.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9 percent, based on a government survey that found that more than a half-million people found work.
A separate survey of company payrolls showed a scant increase of 36,000 net jobs as snowstorms likely hampered hiring. That survey doesn't count the self-employed.